Foy Making His Mark in Houston

Michael McHugh, Junior Reporter



Matt Foy had a reason to celebrate recently at Toyota Center in Houston. As the Aeros took on the defending Calder Cup Champion Milwaukee Admirals, Foy came through with the game-winning goal in a 1-0 victory.



The game remained scoreless through two periods, but with 5:45 left in the third period, Foy passed the puck through the Admirals Brian Finley’s skates to get the goal. The crowd went wild and never let up.



“It was a good one to get (goal). It’s been a while since I’ve scored and hopefully there’s more to come. I just poked at a loose puck and fortunately it went in,” said the 21-year-old Foy.



What made it so special for Foy was that his dad was in the audience to see his son score his sixth goal of the season.



“He’s a good kid”, said his proud dad Larry Foy. “He likes playing the game and has always loved it.”



Growing up in Mississauga, Ontario, his love for hockey started at the age of five when he strapped on some skates and took up the game. He played some local hockey and played a little soccer, street hockey and lacrosse.



Hockey stuck.



He took off in 2001 to play a season at Merrimack College, where he scored 24 points in 31 games. In 2002-03, he got drafted to the Ottawa 67’s of the Ontario Hockey League, where he played for coach Brian Kilrea. There he tallied 132 points and 112 penalty minutes in 68 games. He was an OHL All-Star and was ranked second in the league in scoring, tied for second in goals and tied for third in assists during his first season. He was also voted “Most Dangerous in the Goal Area”. He credits Kilrea with giving him many opportunities. While there, he also played with Corey Locke, who now plays with Hamilton.



“Corey is an unbelievable playmaker,” said Foy. “He has good vision, great eyes and we just clicked from the start. It was a fun year, and probably my best year of hockey so far.”



Best friend Matt Stajan, who grew up with Foy in the same hometown, played for the Toronto Maple Leafs last season and is riding out the lockout in St. John’s of the AHL. They played minor hockey together, each being drafted by different OHL teams.



Foy was selected by Minnesota in the sixth round of the 2002 NHL entry draft.



On September 19, 2003, Foy signed a three-year contract with the Minnesota Wild. That same night, he skated in a pre-season exhibition game against the Vancouver Canucks.



Two days later, he scored two goals with two assists in a pre-season game against the New York Rangers.



“It was a good experience. Everything seemed to click, some goals went in and I was just happy with the way it went,” he said.



Last year, he spent his rookie season with the Aeros.



Foy takes his job as a hockey player seriously, but also sees it as fun. Off ice time is spent hanging with teammate Erik Reitz, going to movies, dinner or to check out the night life. They used to live together, but Reitz moved in to a house, so now he shares a place with Chris Heid.



Fun is something this team has together. He thinks Dan Cavanaugh is hilarious and has a quick wit.



“The guys are always making fun of the other guy and we have a good group of guys. It wouldn’t be hockey if we weren’t joking and kidding around,” said Foy.



They play cards, go to dinner, or play tricks on one another.



On a recent road trip, teammate Pierre Marc Bouchard snuck up behind Brent Burns at dinner and covered his whole shoe in sour cream and butter and then snuck back to his chair. Burns got up to leave with the mess all over his shoe. (In case Burns didn’t know who the culprit was, he does now.)



Currently, in 40 games played, Foy has six goals, 10 assists and 34 penalty minutes.



Foy’s goal for the future is simple. Stick it out and live out the dream of playing in the NHL.



“You never know, it’s pretty hard to get there, but I’m still young so maybe I’ll get a shot sooner than later.”



Just For Fun:



Name someone you’d like to meet:

Wayne Gretzky. Everybody knows what he’s done for the game and it would be nice to just shake his hand.



Favorite Band:

Dave Mathews. I listen to them on the road a lot.



What bugs you the most?

Waiting at the airport. We get there 2 hours before the plane even leaves and we sit and wait. It takes forever.



Something few people know about you is:

I go to church every Sunday. Nobody really knows that.



Have you ever been hit in the face with a puck?

Yes, once. It broke my nose but I’m back to normal now.



If you were stuck on island and could have anyone with you besides family, who would it be?

Pamela Anderson for sure. Beautiful lady, what can I say.